Amber Holcomb: I would change one thing about 'American Idol' if I could

American Idol eliminated Amber Holcomb during Thursday night's live results show broadcast on Fox, determining the twelfth season's Top 3 finalists.
 
Amber, an 18-year-old from Houston, TX, was ousted from the competition based on the combination of home-viewer votes that were cast following Wednesday night's performance show and the prior week's performance show.


During a Friday conference call with reporters, Amber talked about her American Idol experience. Below are some of the highlights. Click here to read more.

You said you wanted to work with Rihanna, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, and Frank Ocean. How do you see yourself fitting in, do you feel like you have to get a harder edge to your style?

Amber Holcomb:  Oh, definitely not.  I feel like my style, personally it changes depending on how I'm feeling or the mood I'm in, and I feel like right now there's nobody like me, so why fix something that isn't broken.

From a contestant point of view, if you could change one thing about the whole American Idol process, what would it be and why?


Amber Holcomb:  If I could change one thing it would probably be the theme.  That should be more negotiable, I feel personally.

Candice Glover was about as upset as I've ever seen anybody be when you were the one voted out.  Tell us a little bit about Candice in general -- what kind of person or singer she is and a little bit about your friendship.

Amber Holcomb:  Candice is a phenomenal person.  She was my roommate and, you know, she was so sweet.  We used to talk every night and we'd wake up and talk again in the morning.  She's just like an all-around good person.  And as an artist, she's a powerhouse also.  I see her on the jazzy, groovy kind of side of music and I see her going far.  She's great.

Do you think you'll have some more dance moves for the tour?

Amber Holcomb:  Oh, most likely, most definitely.


I was just wondering if you could tell me a little bit more about what was going through your head during that last performance.

Amber Holcomb:  Man, actually before the performance, we watched a little package video, and that always gets to me, every single contestant.  And I mean, it's just the song and then all the clips, and then it was me, and I was like, "Oh man, now I have to sing." And my dad was crying, and I was like, "Oh my gosh, I'm going home."  It was just a lot.

What do you think your biggest challenge was throughout the entire competition? 

Amber Holcomb:  Oh man, my biggest challenge was probably just learning myself and learning what I want to do and what I should do.  That was the biggest struggle, that was kind of hard.

Where do you see yourself within the next 10 years?


Amber Holcomb:  Oh my gosh, in the next 10 years I see myself in magazines, on every TV channel, billboards, Grammy's, all that good stuff.

I wanted to talk to you a little bit about last night.  I know that you were very, very upset and that you didn't come out to the press tent for a little, but can you tell me what was going through your head, like why you needed to take that time?

Amber Holcomb:  It was just really overwhelming being in the press tent and knowing that I won't see them again and be able to talk to them about my performance that night. I was like, "Oh man, this is the last, like the end," and that sucked.

What are your hopes for the finale?  I know that Lazaro Arbos was saying that he's hoping to do a duet with Cher and there's talk of Adam Lambert coming back. 

Amber Holcomb:  Oh man, you know what, at this point, I would be happy with anybody.  But I think whoever is in charge of that knows me and knows what would excite me and make me happy, so hopefully, we'll see.


When you said there should be more choice of the categories or the theme nights, do you mean different theme nights, or do you mean more range?  Give us an example of one of the theme nights that could be a little different.

Amber Holcomb:  For example, 2013, that was a great category, but we were only like five or six months into the theme, so I feel like it should have been negotiated a little bit more, maybe the end of 2012, the middle of 2012 or something like that.

You're the only person I've heard discuss suitcases right after you left.  Tell us about your suitcase crisis, and are you going to solve it?

Amber Holcomb:  Oh my gosh, okay. When I got here, in all my spare time, I went and got shoes.  I lost so many pairs of shoes and then I had shoes from wardrobe, so I mean [Kree Harrison] let me borrow her suitcase, and so that solved it. 

Do you plan to do any acting or anything other than singing after the tour?


Amber Holcomb:  Most definitely, yes.  I want to be in movies, commercials, runways, magazines, like the sky is the limit pretty much. 

If you could be on one TV show, which TV show would you choose to be in?

Amber Holcomb:  Oh, that's a hard one.  I feel like Glee is really relatable right now for me. 

I just wanted to talk to you a little about song choice. Are you allowed to choose your own songs, or are there any influences?

Amber Holcomb:  Oh, yes, you pick your own songs.  But I get inside my head.  When I pick a song, I'm really indecisive. I'm like, "Okay, what if I do this one, or maybe I should have done this one." It's ultimately up to you.

Do you feel that had any part in any of the choices or how the judges judged you?


Amber Holcomb:  I mean, of course they stress the fact that song choice is the key, and I guess they didn't think that was the right song for me, but I still stand by all the songs that I chose.  I wouldn't change anything if I could. 

And just real quick, Nicki was always very complimentary of you and had great things to say about you. How did you react when she would compliment your wardrobe or your makeup choices?  Did you think, "Well, she should be talking about my singing," or were you like, "Yes, yes, give me more of that?"

Amber Holcomb:  I don't know one girl that does not like compliments, so I was like, "Yay, yay," you know?  And I feel like with my style and the way I do my hair and my makeup, I feel like I take a lot of time into that, so I appreciate every compliment she gave me.

I've heard that you guys have been doing a little bit of song writing on the side and I was just wondering, is that something that you've done before, or is the show the first experience you have with that?

Amber Holcomb:  I wrote before.  I've been writing since I was 16, you know, so it was definitely not just because of the show.

And can you tell us about anybody that you have been song writing with?


Amber Holcomb:  Oh no, this is me by myself.  All of the girls write, but I wrote with myself.  I didn't write with anybody else.

Amber, any final remarks?

Amber Holcomb:  Okay, I want to say thank you to everybody who supported me.  You guys come to the tour, tickets went on sale today, and we're going to 40 places so I'm pretty sure we are going to be in your area.  And follow me on Twitter and just expect great things from me. 

During a Friday conference call with reporters, Amber talked about her American Idol experience. Above are some of the highlights. Click here to read more.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski